


To Us

by QuilSniv



Series: Tales from the Friendly Neighborhood [4]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Silk (Comics), Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, F/M, Holidays, I dunno I felt like doing something cute so this is what you're getting, Jewish Character, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28277571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuilSniv/pseuds/QuilSniv
Summary: With the semester finally over, Cindy and Matt take some time off for themselves. Cindy reflects on her view of Matt, Matt proves that he's been paying attention and not on cruise control, and the two have a quiet night with each other for company.Takes place after Friendly Neighborhood Silk #40.
Relationships: Cindy Moon/Original Male Character(s)
Series: Tales from the Friendly Neighborhood [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1120743
Kudos: 2





	To Us

The cursor of Cindy’s mouse hovered over her citations page, then slowly slithered over to the save button.

Cindy Moon sat in front of her laptop, staring blankly at the word document on her monitor as the backlit keyboard blasted white light into her eyes; essentially, it was stimulus assault from all directions. Her eyes, bloodshot and glazed over, struggled to peel away from her work; not until she was finished. And if she was going to put this much time into an Intercultural class taught by a crime boss, then she was going to pump every little bit of resolve and effort she had into it.

The class board rolled up, and Cindy breathed a heavy sigh as she uploaded the document and pressed the submit button. Several anvils worth of stress (ones that she could lift with one hand each, promise) were suddenly gone with the press of a button, and she leaned back into her chair. Pulling the hood off her head, she shook her hair out and rolled her neck around, savoring any pop or release of built-up neck strain.

In a weird way, Cindy was glad that Martin Li didn’t know she was moonlighting as Silk; sure, she knew he couldn’t really do anything in a game of Mutually Assured Destruction, but she was terrified that somehow, he’d figure it out and give her a failing grade on a five-page paper given the privilege of being her teacher. (She even took the time to add five more sources than were required; that had to throw him off somehow.)

After a moment of reverie, Cindy looked outside. Huh. It was dark. She could’ve sworn that the sun was still out when she started crunching on the paper, but it wasn’t like there anything she could do about it.

Cindy stood up, stretching and yawning, and perhaps naively hoping that she could just climb into bed and fall fast asleep, to celebrate a semester well-done. Not to mention that the city was relatively quiet; it might have helped that Cindy had worked overtime as Silk alongside Spider-Man to assure Manhattan that there wasn’t going to be either any large-scale crime, nor any big Sinister Six-tier supervillain attacks. (Which might have had something to do with making her as tired as she was.) Which was a fine and dandy thought to have, provided that she didn’t have a roommate and a social life.

The minute she hit the comforter on her bed, however, a slew of messages from various parties erupted out of her phone. One was from the older Young Avengers, who were busy getting trashed in their flat and were begging Cindy to join them. Hellion in particular was very aggressive about her engaging in the festivities.

Pass.

One was Lola and Rafferty, who were having dinner in Rafferty’s parent’s loft in uptown. Something-about how Rafferty’s parents were a lot more accepting of their daughter’s coming out, and Lola’ dad was warming up to it, but it would take time.

Customary thumbs up and heart emoji.

The Parker family (Peter and MJ in particular) wishing her a happy holidays with a not-so-subtle thwip hand at Peter’s side.

That was nice, she supposed. She might get a laugh out of Mayday’s deadpan expression later, but for now Cindy just wanted to pass out and—

Cindy looked up at a knock of the door, surprised at somebody coming at this hour. Her immediate thought as scenarios raced through her head was her RA. “Anya?” Cindy slid off the bed, walking over and opening the door. “Anya, s’that you?”

Outside her door stood Matt, dressed in a button-down, sweater vest and slacks, taking off his Kippah as he waved to Cindy. A sweater The formality was unusual for a man who, more often than not, wore a pair of jeans and a Henley as a go-to for work. “Hey, Moon-Moon. Sorry for the late hour, but—you didn’t answer your phone. Also, it was cold out; snowing, but—yeah, kinda obvious, I guess.” Matt brushed off a small clump of slush from his shoulder.

Cindy stood there, forgetting etiquette for a few seconds before the mental buffering ended. “I—hey! How’d you get up here? I thought the entrance was ID-locked and—”

“You gave me a copy of your key.” Matt flashed a thin, white piece of plastic. “You doing okay? If it’s a bad time, I can—”

“No, no!” Cindy moved to the side, a gesture to invite Matt in; a gesture he accepted with a great deal of tact. “Sorry for the mess, I, uh… finals.” Cindy winced as Matt moved past the pile of food boxes that she’d accumulated over the finals week, flushed out of embarrassment. “You’re… really dressed up. No offense, but… I don’t even think you’ve dressed that nice for me.”

“I can. At least, if you want.” Matt, putting his Kippah in his backpack. The one part of his usual look that hasn’t changed. “It’s just, you know, my mom called and asked me to visit. Hannukah celebration with the family; grandma and grandpa even came this year, they travelled all the way from Galveston just for this. I thought it warranted—” A gesture to himself; a very unfamiliar look for even him to register. “—bells and whistles.”

Cindy moved forward, stroking Matt’s growing stubble affectionately. With the affection came a bit of curiosity attached as a string. “Bet she wasn't too happy about this." A quick pass, as she kissed Matt on the cheek; sure, she was curious, but she wanted him to know she was glad to see him, even if it was a surprise. "I thought you weren’t particularly dedicated to your faith. That it went as far as the bar mitzvah and you hadn’t paid it much mind.”

“I’m not. Mom and dad aren’t either happy or upset. I think their divorce helped give perspective.” Matt gestured to the bean bag chair nestled between the bunk and two walls, almost asking for permission to sit down. Cindy gestured back, prompting him to plop down with a resounding plop. “It gave me a chance to pick and choose which traditions I follow in life, and then pass down. But, this was important to ma, so…” Matt let off a loose smile; something familiar. “I wanted to make her happy. And since Hannukah overlaps with Christmas this year, I figured ‘hey, it’s a symbolic gift’.”

“A very Matt Perkins thing to do.” Cindy, finally adjusted to Matt’s presence and appearance, sat on top of him, positioning her thighs over his lap to make herself comfortable.

“I’d like to think so.” Matt leaned back, popping his neck and back as he sighed. “It went great with the Peter Seabourne album I found in a Barnes and Noble.” A rough, throaty chuckle escaped, as Cindy giggled childishly. There was something about how he improvised something so quickly yet eloquently that was continually charming and impressive.

A moment of silence passed, as Cindy leaned down and laid against Matt’s chest to hear his heartbeat. It was moments like this that she lived for, and her heart raced when Matt spoke again; he kept her coming back with long, drawn-out pauses in banter, only to pull the slack with something sweet and thoughtful. “Hey, so.” Matt grunted as he lifted his head, with Cindy continuing to sit there. “You know what’s a good idea?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve got your favorite Christmas album in my backpack. Buble’s 2012 Christmas, Deluxe edition, your words, not mine.” Matt gestured to his bag, which was leaning limp against the wall as Cindy looked up in curiosity. “And I know you have hot chocolate cups for your Keurig. So, here’s the pitch. You, me, some hot chocolate, that album, and snuggles. Just that for the next… hour or so? Maybe the whole night if you’re feeling generous.”

Cindy smiled, her warmth radiating enough that she could’ve sworn the snow outside melted, even midair in the biting winter air. “Yeah, that… that sounds great.” The smile curved into a smirk. “But you have to do something for me.”

“And that would be?...”

“Put on a Henley.” An eyebrow raised, as Cindy laughed. “I’m sorry, you’re sharp as hell and you made your mom so happy, but… you know, I have that shirt and jeans set that you left here a couple weeks ago, and… I dunno, I just want to kick back and snuggle with you. The real you.”

Now it was Matt’s turn to heat up the air. “There’s a real me?”

“Yep.” Cindy, having put a coffee pod in her Keurig and put the CD in her player, moved to the closet, and pulled out Matt’s shirt and pants, tossing them to him. “It’s you. Just you. Though... I definitely wouldn't be opposed to you wearing that another time. But the holidays are comfy times for me.” A cute, flirty wink, another pod, and a track into the disc later, and Matt had changed and was sitting back down, graciously accepting a cup from Cindy.

“Thanks.” Cindy sat next to him, clinking her mug against his, and affectionately accepting his arm squeezing her shoulder tightly. “To us?”

Cindy took a sip, and took in the smell, the sound, the taste, of their night. A calm, quiet night. Her smiled widened, as she closed her eyes and let herself bask in the warmth. “To us.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if this was ever talked about in earlier chapters of Friendly Neighborhood Silk, but I'm pretty sure that this firmly establishes that Matt is Jewish on his mother's side; it's not been an incredibly important detail, and it probably won't. But it could. You never know.
> 
> I dunno, I just wanted to write some cute holiday-themed fluff, and this felt like a good place to put in some details that aren't really important to the main narrative and I felt like I could get away with it here. Happy holidays, y'all.


End file.
